Uncle Sam Versus the Bear of Communism

The Cold War was a period of high tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States feared a breach of communist ideals into the homeland, for the first time the American people were questioning their own safety. Meanwhile the Soviet Union, and other communist countries for that matter, were concerned about another dropping of atomic bombs by the United States, the possibility of more dangerous and destructive weapons hidden away, and the persecution of their communist ideas and way of life.

These complimentary political cartoons were made approximately in 1949 or the early 1950s. The first cartoon of the bear looming over Uncle Sam is a reaction to the Soviet Union testing its own nuclear weaponry and fire power. All the arrows point outward from the U.S.S.R. as if to depict the spread of communism to other countries around the world. The bear menacing over Uncle Sam represents the popular view of people of Asian and Russian decent at the time. The bear symbolizes an uncivilized world and lifestyle that could have spread if the United States had not kept the Soviets under control. The other cartoon turns the tables, showing how the argument over whose government is better or more effective than their rival. The bear is now the victim in the situation and Uncle Sam is now the suppressor and evil force that is trying to spread the western ideals all over the world.

In the United States, the propaganda of the Cold War became that of an “US” versus “THEM” scenario. After the North Koreans invaded South Korea, the United States came up with the idea of “Good Asians” and “Bad Asians” (Brewer, 142). This inflated the stigma around both communism, and Asian countries. The United States was already accustomed to the war on communism, but among the tension of the cold war, the Korean war was an outlet or scapegoat for prejudice. “The Red Menace” was a term used during the cold war in the United States to describe the Soviet Union or any kind of news relating to an international communist conspiracy. In other words, the term was an outward projection of internal fears for communism spreading farther.

Between communist countries and the United States there was a mutual fear of destruction. That either side could decide to launch an attack on the other at any time with or without warning. Both sides feared the possibility of secret weapons stockpiled in the other country. Even weapons that were more powerful than an atomic bomb.